Dogs on the fronts of the Great Patriotic
The first animals in military service in humans were not horses or elephants. Going to rob a nearby village, primitive tribes took dogs with them. They defended their owners from enemy dogs, and also attacked opponents, which greatly facilitated melee combat. The dogs chased a defeated enemy, quickly found the escaped prisoners. In peacetime, the dogs helped the guard - guarded villages, prisons, military detachments in the campaign. In the sixth century BC, dogs were adapted to wear special collars covered with sharp blades. Later, the animals began to dress in special metal shells that protected them from cold weapons. The armor covered the back and sides of the dog, and the chain mail covered the chest, forearms, and stomach. Later, metal dog helmets appeared.
For millennia the dog was a special fighting animal. The Celts worshiped the god of war, Gus, who took the form of a dog. Dogs were valued, raised and trained as professional soldiers. However, in the twentieth century, much has changed. New types of firearms have appeared, such as a rifle and a machine gun. The price of life of individual fighters, including four-legged, fell to a minimum. Indeed, what could the dog oppose small arms. However, human friends did not disappear from the battlefields, they just had to master completely new professions.
The ancestor of service dog breeding in the Soviet Union is considered a cynologist Vsevolod Yazykov. He has written many books on the training and use of dogs at the front. Later, the methods developed by him were used as the basis of theoretical and practical lessons with dogs in the army.
Back in 1919, the canine scientist suggested that the Headquarters of the Red Army organize service dog breeding in the Red Army. After thinking for no less than five years, the Revolutionary Military Council issued order number 1089, according to which a kennel of sports and military dogs called “Red Star” was formed on the basis of the Vystrel shooting school. Its first leader was Nikita Yevtushenko. At first, there was a huge shortage of specialists; hunters, criminal investigators, and even circus trainers were involved. In order to popularize this good deed, in the autumn of 1925, an All-Union Exhibition of Guard Breeds was organized, which was widely covered by the press. With the participation of dogs, cattery’s cadets demonstrated a very effective staged battle with shooting and a smokescreen. Soon after, clubs and service dog breeding sections began to appear in the Osoaviahim system throughout the country. Initially, four-legged friends were trained for intelligence, sentry, communications and sanitary needs. Starting in the thirties, dogs began to be trained in blasting tanks. And at the beginning of 1935, dogs were already tested for suitability for sabotage. Dogs were dropped in special boxes with a parachute. On their backs were saddles with explosives, which they were supposed to deliver to the alleged enemy targets. The death of the dog was not implied, since it could easily be released from the saddle thanks to a special mechanism. The tests showed that dogs can well perform acts of sabotage, such as the destruction of armored vehicles, railway bridges and various structures. In 1938, Vsevolod Yazykov died in the course of Stalin's repressions, but the work he laid out prospered. In the late thirties, the USSR was a leader in the effectiveness of dogs in military affairs, training four-legged fighters in eleven types of services.
The first baptism of fire our dogs took place in 1939 year, taking part in the destruction of the Japanese troops at Khalkhin Gol. There they were used mainly for guard and cohesive purposes. Then there was the Finnish War, where the dogs successfully found the “cuckoo” snipers hiding in the trees. When the Great Patriotic War began, more than forty thousand service dogs stood on Osoaviahima’s registration throughout the country. Only the Moscow Region clubs immediately sent over fourteen thousand of their pets to the front. Specialists of clubs have done a great job in preparing special equipment for dogs. Many of them went to the front line as counselors, orderlies from the driving units. Helped and other clubs service dog, as well as ordinary citizens. For the training of the necessary military profession, Central Asian, German, South Russian, Caucasian Shepherd dogs, huskies of any species, hounds and mestizos of these breeds were taken. Other breeds fought on the territory of Ukraine and the North Caucasus: short-haired and wire-haired continental cops, Great Danes, Setters, Greyhounds and their half breeds. During the war years, the replenishment of dog troops in most cases took place on the spot due to the withdrawal of dogs from the population or capture from the enemy. According to some estimates, about seventy thousand four-legged human friends participated in the Great Patriotic War from our side, from which 168 separate detachments were formed. Bred and not very, big and small, smooth and shaggy dogs contributed to the victory. From Moscow to Berlin itself, they marched side by side with the Russian soldiers, sharing with them both the trench and ration.
Dog service during the war was very different. Sled and health dogs have brought, perhaps, the most benefit. Under the fire of the fascists, on sledges, carts and trailers, depending on the season and the terrain conditions, dog sleds were taken from the battlefield to heavy wounded soldiers and brought ammunition to the units. Thanks to the training and ingenuity, the dog commands acted amazingly in concert. There are many stories about dogs from sledges on the Karelian front. In difficult wooded and swampy areas, among deep snow and difficult roads, which even horseback riding could not move, light sled teams became the main means of transport, delivering advanced food and ammunition, and evacuating wounded soldiers quickly and painlessly.
Alone the dogs made their way to places inaccessible to orderlies. Crawling up to the wounded, bleeding fighters, the four-legged friends substituted a medical bag hanging on its side. The soldier had to bandage the wound himself, after which the dog would go on. Their faultless instinct helped to distinguish a living person from a deceased person more than once. There are cases when dogs licked faces of fighters who are in a semi-unconscious state, bringing them to life. And in the harsh winters, the dogs warmed up the freezing people.
It is believed that over the years of the war, the dogs took out more than six hundred thousand seriously wounded officers, delivered about four thousand tons of ammunition to combat units.
About six thousand mine-searching dogs, along with their sappers-leaders, discovered and neutralized four million mines, land mines and other explosives. Having saved many human lives, the dogs have greatly assisted in demining large cities such as Belgorod, Odessa, Kiev, Vitebsk, Novgorod, Polotsk, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest and Vienna. In total, they participated in the clearance of more than three hundred cities. They tested fifteen thousand kilometers of military roads. The fighters working with such dogs were firmly convinced that the sites and objects tested by their four-legged pets are completely safe.
In a difficult situation, the dogs more than once rescued the fighters as signalers. The small size and high speed of movement made them difficult targets. In addition, in winter they were often dressed in white camouflage gowns. Under the hurricane machine-gun and artillery fire, dogs overcame impassable places for people, swam across the river, delivering reports to their destination. Trained in a special way, they acted mainly under the cover of darkness quickly and covertly, performing tasks that decided the fate of entire battles. There are cases when dogs resorted or crawled already being mortally wounded.
During the war years, dogs delivered more than 150 thousands of important reports, laid eight thousand kilometers of telephone wire, which is more than the distance between Berlin and New York. Another function was assigned to cohesive dogs. They were entrusted with the delivery of newspapers and letters to the front line, and sometimes even orders and medals, if there was no way to get through to the unit without loss.
The most terrible role, of course, was prepared for tank destroyers. During the war years, about three hundred successful explosions of fascist combat vehicles were carried out by four-legged fighters. Especially kamikaze dogs were noted in the battles at Stalingrad, Leningrad, Bryansk, on the Kursk Bulge and in the defense of Moscow. Similar losses, equal to two tank divisions, taught the Nazis to fear and respect shaggy opponents. There are cases when the enemy’s tank attack ended in a disgraceful flight, as soon as the dogs hung in the field of visibility of the fascists. Fast, inconspicuous dogs were very difficult to stop with machine-gun fire, attempts to use nets against them also failed. The animals instantly reached the dead zones, ran up to the tank from behind or dived under the moving fortresses, hitting one of the weakest points - the bottom.
Only by the end of 1943 year did the German tank crews learn how to kill dogs suddenly appearing in front of them. How many killed dogs performing similar tasks is not known for certain. I dare to suggest that a lot more than three hundred. Initially it was supposed to equip dogs with a special saddle with explosives. Being under the bottom of the tank, the dog had to bring the reset mechanism, in parallel activating the fuse, and return back. However, the use of such complex waste mines showed their inefficiency in real combat, after which they were abandoned.
The dogs were trained to the task, putting a bowl of food near the track-tracks of the established tank. In battle, dogs with attached mines were released from the trenches at a slight angle to the line of movement of enemy tanks. Well, then they instinctively fled under the tracks. If the dog was not killed on the way to the goal and did not fulfill the task, then our sniper, who was included only for this purpose in the dog squad, shot the bug to his owner for security reasons. So, for the sake of victory in a war, a man, with the help of deception, sent four-legged friends to certain death.
Separate tasks for kamikaze dogs were sabotage operations. They were used to undermine the trains and bridges, railway tracks and other strategic facilities. Subversive groups were preparing specifically. Specially created commission carefully checked each person and each dog. After that, the group was thrown into the rear of the Germans.
Dogs were also used for guard purposes. They found the fascists at night and in bad weather, they went into combat guard and sat in ambush. The four-legged friends didn’t bark and didn’t run to meet him when they detected the enemy. Only by the special tension of the leash and the direction of the body could a person determine the type and place of imminent danger.
Intelligence dogs, along with their counselors, successfully passed through the advanced positions of the Germans, discovered hidden firing points, ambushes, secrets, and helped in capturing "tongues." Well-coordinated teams of "man-dog" worked so silently, quickly and clearly that sometimes they did really unique things. There is a known case when a scout with a dog imperceptibly penetrated inside a fortress infested with the Germans, stayed in it and returned safely back.
Dogs were used in the Smersh troops. They searched for enemy saboteurs, as well as disguised German snipers. As a rule, such a detachment consisted of one or two rifle divisions, a signalman with a radio station, an operational worker from the NKVD and a leader with a dog trained in search and service work.
Of course, not all front-line dogs were well trained. The skinny mongrets who came across to Soviet soldiers in the liberated cities often became living talismans of military units. They lived together with the people at the front, maintaining the fighting spirit of the soldiers.
The Great War proved the effectiveness of the use of service dogs in the army. In the postwar years, the USSR held the first place in the world in the use of dogs for military purposes. Our allies also used dogs in the service. The most beloved breed of the American military was the Doberman Pinscher. They were used on all fronts as scouts, messengers, sappers, demolition men and paratroopers. The four-legged favorites walked along perfectly and worked on patrol, stood to the end in the most hopeless position, were not afraid of fire or water, jumped over any obstacles, could climb ladders and perform many other useful functions. When these dogs were officially accepted into the US Marine Corps, some well-worn officers said indignantly: “See how far the Corps has come?”. However, life judged who was right. According to statistics, no Marine has died in the patrol, if the detachment led the Doberman. Not a single Japanese man could secretly penetrate at night into the location of parts of the marines, if they were guarded by four-legged guards. And where they were not, the attacks of the Japanese servicemen led to tangible losses. Subsequently, the Dobermans of the Marines received the terrible nickname "Devil Dog".
The French mostly used a smooth Beseron breed at the front. Being their pride, similar to the rottweilers, and to the Doberman dogs, only a few dozen remained after the war. It took considerable effort to find a few purebred Beauceron and revive the breed of French Shepherd Dogs.
For their feats, dog leaders received new titles, orders and medals. Their pets, who shared on a par with them all the military life, often in the heat of the war, were not supposed to receive any awards in the Soviet Union. At best, it was a sugar cube. The only dog awarded the “For Military Merit” medal is the legendary Djulbars. Americans also had an official ban on awarding any animals. However, in some countries, such as Great Britain, dogs were given ranks and awards were given. Everything was held in a solemn atmosphere like the ceremonies of awarding the person.
In 1917, Maria Dikin founded the Veterinary Charity Organization for the Care of Sick and Wounded Animals (PDSA) in England. In 1943, this woman established a special medal for any animals that distinguished themselves during the war. The first dog to receive the award was a British Spaniel named Rob, who completed over twenty skydiving, taking part in dozens of military operations. In total, during the war, eighteen dogs, as well as three horses, thirty-one pigeons and one cat, were rewarded with such a medal.
Today, even despite the rapid scientific and technical progress, dogs still remain in the service of the state, continuing to faithfully serve people. Trained dogs are necessarily included in the teams of the inspection teams at customs, they are used when patrolling cities, in search operations for firearms and explosives, including plastic.
One British bloodhound, nicknamed Tammy, adapted herself perfectly to find smuggling lots of valuable marine molluscs. She was sent to “customs service” in the customs in South America and literally in a couple of months she threatened the entire criminal business in the region. Desperate criminals "ordered" a dog, but fortunately the attempt failed. After that, for the first time in the world, the dog had several bodyguards. Armed guards watch the valuable dog twenty-four hours a day.
For millennia the dog was a special fighting animal. The Celts worshiped the god of war, Gus, who took the form of a dog. Dogs were valued, raised and trained as professional soldiers. However, in the twentieth century, much has changed. New types of firearms have appeared, such as a rifle and a machine gun. The price of life of individual fighters, including four-legged, fell to a minimum. Indeed, what could the dog oppose small arms. However, human friends did not disappear from the battlefields, they just had to master completely new professions.
The ancestor of service dog breeding in the Soviet Union is considered a cynologist Vsevolod Yazykov. He has written many books on the training and use of dogs at the front. Later, the methods developed by him were used as the basis of theoretical and practical lessons with dogs in the army. Back in 1919, the canine scientist suggested that the Headquarters of the Red Army organize service dog breeding in the Red Army. After thinking for no less than five years, the Revolutionary Military Council issued order number 1089, according to which a kennel of sports and military dogs called “Red Star” was formed on the basis of the Vystrel shooting school. Its first leader was Nikita Yevtushenko. At first, there was a huge shortage of specialists; hunters, criminal investigators, and even circus trainers were involved. In order to popularize this good deed, in the autumn of 1925, an All-Union Exhibition of Guard Breeds was organized, which was widely covered by the press. With the participation of dogs, cattery’s cadets demonstrated a very effective staged battle with shooting and a smokescreen. Soon after, clubs and service dog breeding sections began to appear in the Osoaviahim system throughout the country. Initially, four-legged friends were trained for intelligence, sentry, communications and sanitary needs. Starting in the thirties, dogs began to be trained in blasting tanks. And at the beginning of 1935, dogs were already tested for suitability for sabotage. Dogs were dropped in special boxes with a parachute. On their backs were saddles with explosives, which they were supposed to deliver to the alleged enemy targets. The death of the dog was not implied, since it could easily be released from the saddle thanks to a special mechanism. The tests showed that dogs can well perform acts of sabotage, such as the destruction of armored vehicles, railway bridges and various structures. In 1938, Vsevolod Yazykov died in the course of Stalin's repressions, but the work he laid out prospered. In the late thirties, the USSR was a leader in the effectiveness of dogs in military affairs, training four-legged fighters in eleven types of services.
The first baptism of fire our dogs took place in 1939 year, taking part in the destruction of the Japanese troops at Khalkhin Gol. There they were used mainly for guard and cohesive purposes. Then there was the Finnish War, where the dogs successfully found the “cuckoo” snipers hiding in the trees. When the Great Patriotic War began, more than forty thousand service dogs stood on Osoaviahima’s registration throughout the country. Only the Moscow Region clubs immediately sent over fourteen thousand of their pets to the front. Specialists of clubs have done a great job in preparing special equipment for dogs. Many of them went to the front line as counselors, orderlies from the driving units. Helped and other clubs service dog, as well as ordinary citizens. For the training of the necessary military profession, Central Asian, German, South Russian, Caucasian Shepherd dogs, huskies of any species, hounds and mestizos of these breeds were taken. Other breeds fought on the territory of Ukraine and the North Caucasus: short-haired and wire-haired continental cops, Great Danes, Setters, Greyhounds and their half breeds. During the war years, the replenishment of dog troops in most cases took place on the spot due to the withdrawal of dogs from the population or capture from the enemy. According to some estimates, about seventy thousand four-legged human friends participated in the Great Patriotic War from our side, from which 168 separate detachments were formed. Bred and not very, big and small, smooth and shaggy dogs contributed to the victory. From Moscow to Berlin itself, they marched side by side with the Russian soldiers, sharing with them both the trench and ration.
24 June 1945 year on Red Square in Moscow was a grand Victory Parade. The number of participants was more than fifty thousand people. It was attended by soldiers, officers and generals from all fronts from the Karelian and up to the fourth Ukrainian, as well as the combined regiment of the Navy and parts of the Moscow Military District. After the Soviet tanks rumbled along the pavement, artillery passed, the cavalry progressed, a consolidated battalion of dogs appeared. They fled at the left foot of their guides, clearly maintaining their alignment.
Soviet military breeders of a separate liaison battalion with cohesive dogs
Dog service during the war was very different. Sled and health dogs have brought, perhaps, the most benefit. Under the fire of the fascists, on sledges, carts and trailers, depending on the season and the terrain conditions, dog sleds were taken from the battlefield to heavy wounded soldiers and brought ammunition to the units. Thanks to the training and ingenuity, the dog commands acted amazingly in concert. There are many stories about dogs from sledges on the Karelian front. In difficult wooded and swampy areas, among deep snow and difficult roads, which even horseback riding could not move, light sled teams became the main means of transport, delivering advanced food and ammunition, and evacuating wounded soldiers quickly and painlessly.
Alone the dogs made their way to places inaccessible to orderlies. Crawling up to the wounded, bleeding fighters, the four-legged friends substituted a medical bag hanging on its side. The soldier had to bandage the wound himself, after which the dog would go on. Their faultless instinct helped to distinguish a living person from a deceased person more than once. There are cases when dogs licked faces of fighters who are in a semi-unconscious state, bringing them to life. And in the harsh winters, the dogs warmed up the freezing people.
It is believed that over the years of the war, the dogs took out more than six hundred thousand seriously wounded officers, delivered about four thousand tons of ammunition to combat units.
A dog team driver Dmitri Trokhov, consisting of four huskies, transported fifteen hundred wounded Soviet soldiers in three years. Trokhov received only the Order of the Red Star and three medals "For Courage". At the same time, the orderlies, who removed from the battlefield eighty or more people, were given the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
About six thousand mine-searching dogs, along with their sappers-leaders, discovered and neutralized four million mines, land mines and other explosives. Having saved many human lives, the dogs have greatly assisted in demining large cities such as Belgorod, Odessa, Kiev, Vitebsk, Novgorod, Polotsk, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest and Vienna. In total, they participated in the clearance of more than three hundred cities. They tested fifteen thousand kilometers of military roads. The fighters working with such dogs were firmly convinced that the sites and objects tested by their four-legged pets are completely safe.
The grave of a German service dog in the USSR. The inscription on the plate "Our watchdog Grafe, 11.09.38-16.04.42." The territory of the USSR, spring 1942 g
The 17 message of November 1944 to all fronts from the chief of the engineering troops of the Red Army: “Specially trained mine detection dogs successfully completed their task in the Yassko-Kishenevsky operation. Their platoon was accompanied by tanks in the entire depth of the zone of enemy barriers. The dogs rode on armor and did not pay attention to the noise of engines and the firing of guns. In suspicious places, mine-searching dogs, under cover of tank fire, carried out reconnaissance and mine detection. ”
In a difficult situation, the dogs more than once rescued the fighters as signalers. The small size and high speed of movement made them difficult targets. In addition, in winter they were often dressed in white camouflage gowns. Under the hurricane machine-gun and artillery fire, dogs overcame impassable places for people, swam across the river, delivering reports to their destination. Trained in a special way, they acted mainly under the cover of darkness quickly and covertly, performing tasks that decided the fate of entire battles. There are cases when dogs resorted or crawled already being mortally wounded.
During the war years, dogs delivered more than 150 thousands of important reports, laid eight thousand kilometers of telephone wire, which is more than the distance between Berlin and New York. Another function was assigned to cohesive dogs. They were entrusted with the delivery of newspapers and letters to the front line, and sometimes even orders and medals, if there was no way to get through to the unit without loss.
The main problem of all the dog communication dogs was a German sniper. One dog named Alma was supposed to bring an important set of documents. While she was running, the sniper managed to shoot her both ears and crush her jaw. But still Alma completed the task. Unfortunately, it was the last for her, the dog had to be put to sleep. Another equally courageous dog Rex successfully delivered more than one and a half thousand reports. In the course of the battles for the Dnieper, he crossed the river three times in one day. He was wounded several times, however, he became famous for always getting to his destination.
The most terrible role, of course, was prepared for tank destroyers. During the war years, about three hundred successful explosions of fascist combat vehicles were carried out by four-legged fighters. Especially kamikaze dogs were noted in the battles at Stalingrad, Leningrad, Bryansk, on the Kursk Bulge and in the defense of Moscow. Similar losses, equal to two tank divisions, taught the Nazis to fear and respect shaggy opponents. There are cases when the enemy’s tank attack ended in a disgraceful flight, as soon as the dogs hung in the field of visibility of the fascists. Fast, inconspicuous dogs were very difficult to stop with machine-gun fire, attempts to use nets against them also failed. The animals instantly reached the dead zones, ran up to the tank from behind or dived under the moving fortresses, hitting one of the weakest points - the bottom.
Only by the end of 1943 year did the German tank crews learn how to kill dogs suddenly appearing in front of them. How many killed dogs performing similar tasks is not known for certain. I dare to suggest that a lot more than three hundred. Initially it was supposed to equip dogs with a special saddle with explosives. Being under the bottom of the tank, the dog had to bring the reset mechanism, in parallel activating the fuse, and return back. However, the use of such complex waste mines showed their inefficiency in real combat, after which they were abandoned.
The dogs were trained to the task, putting a bowl of food near the track-tracks of the established tank. In battle, dogs with attached mines were released from the trenches at a slight angle to the line of movement of enemy tanks. Well, then they instinctively fled under the tracks. If the dog was not killed on the way to the goal and did not fulfill the task, then our sniper, who was included only for this purpose in the dog squad, shot the bug to his owner for security reasons. So, for the sake of victory in a war, a man, with the help of deception, sent four-legged friends to certain death.
Delivery of the Soviet injured in the medical battalion on the drag with dogs. Germany, 1945 year
From the report of Lieutenant-General Dmitry Lelyushenko in the fall of 1941, during the fierce battles near Moscow: “In view of the massive use of tanks by the enemy, an important part of anti-tank defense is dogs. The enemy is afraid of the fighter dogs and even deliberately hunts them down. ”
Separate tasks for kamikaze dogs were sabotage operations. They were used to undermine the trains and bridges, railway tracks and other strategic facilities. Subversive groups were preparing specifically. Specially created commission carefully checked each person and each dog. After that, the group was thrown into the rear of the Germans.
Dogs were also used for guard purposes. They found the fascists at night and in bad weather, they went into combat guard and sat in ambush. The four-legged friends didn’t bark and didn’t run to meet him when they detected the enemy. Only by the special tension of the leash and the direction of the body could a person determine the type and place of imminent danger.
There are cases of capture in the "captivity" of German dogs. For example, on the Kalininsky front in 1942, a dog named Harsh, who had served in the punitive detachment before, was engaged in the search for partisans, fell into the hands of Soviet soldiers. Fortunately, the poor dog was not put against the wall, but retrained and sent to the ranks of the service dogs of the Soviet Army. Later, Harsch was able to repeatedly demonstrate their remarkable guard qualities.
Intelligence dogs, along with their counselors, successfully passed through the advanced positions of the Germans, discovered hidden firing points, ambushes, secrets, and helped in capturing "tongues." Well-coordinated teams of "man-dog" worked so silently, quickly and clearly that sometimes they did really unique things. There is a known case when a scout with a dog imperceptibly penetrated inside a fortress infested with the Germans, stayed in it and returned safely back.
Soviet soldiers-counselors lead tank destroyers
During the defense of Leningrad, a message was caught by a German officer who reported to headquarters that their positions were suddenly attacked by rabid Russian dogs. Such fascists saw quite healthy animals standing in the service of a special military unit and taking part in hostilities.
Dogs were used in the Smersh troops. They searched for enemy saboteurs, as well as disguised German snipers. As a rule, such a detachment consisted of one or two rifle divisions, a signalman with a radio station, an operational worker from the NKVD and a leader with a dog trained in search and service work.
The following curious instructions were found in the archives of the Smersh GUKR: “We consider it necessary to remind you that during the operation in the Šilovichi forest all dogs with long range instances or having experience in finding caches and caches should be used in the most promising places.” And here it is further: “In the morning exercise, the dogs walked sluggishly and looked sad. The cadets did not try to cheer them. The division commander is announced out of order. "
Of course, not all front-line dogs were well trained. The skinny mongrets who came across to Soviet soldiers in the liberated cities often became living talismans of military units. They lived together with the people at the front, maintaining the fighting spirit of the soldiers.
Among the dogs, mine detectors have their only ones, forever included in history. The dog named Dzhulbars, who served as part of the fourteenth assault engineering-sapper brigade, was distinguished by a phenomenal flair. Despite the fact that he was trained in all the types of services that existed at that time, the “Rogue,” as the military called him, distinguished himself in the search for mines. It is documented that between September 1944 and August 1945, he found seven and a half thousand mines and shells. Just think about this number. Thanks to only one German shepherd, many world-famous architectural monuments in Prague, Vienna, Kanev, Kiev, on the Danube have survived to this day. Dzhulbars received an invitation to take part in the Victory Parade, but he could not walk, recovering from his injury. Then the top leadership of our country ordered to carry the dog in his arms. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Mazover, who is the chief canine of service dog breeding and commander of the thirty-seventh separate demining battalion, fulfilled the wish of the authorities. He was even allowed not to salute the commander-in-chief or to stamp a step. After the war, the famous Dzhulbars participated in the filming of the film “White Fang”.
The Great War proved the effectiveness of the use of service dogs in the army. In the postwar years, the USSR held the first place in the world in the use of dogs for military purposes. Our allies also used dogs in the service. The most beloved breed of the American military was the Doberman Pinscher. They were used on all fronts as scouts, messengers, sappers, demolition men and paratroopers. The four-legged favorites walked along perfectly and worked on patrol, stood to the end in the most hopeless position, were not afraid of fire or water, jumped over any obstacles, could climb ladders and perform many other useful functions. When these dogs were officially accepted into the US Marine Corps, some well-worn officers said indignantly: “See how far the Corps has come?”. However, life judged who was right. According to statistics, no Marine has died in the patrol, if the detachment led the Doberman. Not a single Japanese man could secretly penetrate at night into the location of parts of the marines, if they were guarded by four-legged guards. And where they were not, the attacks of the Japanese servicemen led to tangible losses. Subsequently, the Dobermans of the Marines received the terrible nickname "Devil Dog".
In the Pacific, on the island of Guam there is a bronze monument depicting a seated Doberman. It was put by the Americans 21 on July 1994 of the year, fifty years after the liberation of the island. The assault on the Japanese fortifications cost the lives of twenty-five service dogs, but at the same time they saved ten times more infantrymen.
The French mostly used a smooth Beseron breed at the front. Being their pride, similar to the rottweilers, and to the Doberman dogs, only a few dozen remained after the war. It took considerable effort to find a few purebred Beauceron and revive the breed of French Shepherd Dogs.
For their feats, dog leaders received new titles, orders and medals. Their pets, who shared on a par with them all the military life, often in the heat of the war, were not supposed to receive any awards in the Soviet Union. At best, it was a sugar cube. The only dog awarded the “For Military Merit” medal is the legendary Djulbars. Americans also had an official ban on awarding any animals. However, in some countries, such as Great Britain, dogs were given ranks and awards were given. Everything was held in a solemn atmosphere like the ceremonies of awarding the person.
There is a curious incident that occurred to Winston Churchill, who wished to be present at the presentation of the order to one glorious dog along with members of the high command. During the ceremony, the husky, emboldened, bit the Prime Minister by the leg. According to the story the dog was forgiven. True or not, it is not known for certain, but Churchill later admitted that he loved cats more.
In 1917, Maria Dikin founded the Veterinary Charity Organization for the Care of Sick and Wounded Animals (PDSA) in England. In 1943, this woman established a special medal for any animals that distinguished themselves during the war. The first dog to receive the award was a British Spaniel named Rob, who completed over twenty skydiving, taking part in dozens of military operations. In total, during the war, eighteen dogs, as well as three horses, thirty-one pigeons and one cat, were rewarded with such a medal.
In the thirties of the last century, a number of German scientists put forward the idea that dogs possess abstract thinking and, therefore, can be taught to human speech. Obviously, the Fuhrer got acquainted with this theory, historians found in Berlin documents showing that Hitler had invested a lot in the construction of a special school for dogs. The Fuhrer was very attached to his German Shepherd Blondie, whom he ordered to kill with a cyanide pill before committing suicide. He was firmly convinced that the dogs are not inferior to people in intellect and obliged the SS officers to prepare a project for training these pets. In the school built, German trainers and scientists tried to train the dogs of human speech, reading and writing. According to the reports studied, the military even managed to achieve some success. One Airedale Terrier learned to use the alphabet with grief in half. And another dog, a shepherd dog, according to scientists' assurances, was able to pronounce the phrase “My Fuhrer” in German. Unfortunately, no more substantial evidence of this was found in the archives.
Today, even despite the rapid scientific and technical progress, dogs still remain in the service of the state, continuing to faithfully serve people. Trained dogs are necessarily included in the teams of the inspection teams at customs, they are used when patrolling cities, in search operations for firearms and explosives, including plastic.
One British bloodhound, nicknamed Tammy, adapted herself perfectly to find smuggling lots of valuable marine molluscs. She was sent to “customs service” in the customs in South America and literally in a couple of months she threatened the entire criminal business in the region. Desperate criminals "ordered" a dog, but fortunately the attempt failed. After that, for the first time in the world, the dog had several bodyguards. Armed guards watch the valuable dog twenty-four hours a day.
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